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25 Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About The Breakfast Club

25 Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About The Breakfast Club

It has been 31 years since a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal met one Saturday morning for detention. This 80’s movie is still considered one of the best high school movies ever made because it touches the souls of everyone as it touches base on our self-identity struggles. We quote this movie during our happiest times, saddest times and even angriest times because it gives us the words to describe how we feel. John Hughes gave us something special when he wrote The Breakfast Club, whether he realized it or not. You may be able to quote this film endlessly but there are probably a lot of things you don’t know about it! Check them out after the jump.

1. The story time scene was not scripted

That infamous scene when our favorite 5 students sat in a circle in the library and told each other their secrets wasn’t actually scripted. John Hughes told them to ad-lib and they obviously did a great job at it! That’s what the scene was so emotional and real!

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Know what else was ad-libbed? Bender’s (Judd Nelson) line, “Claire, you wanna see a picture of a guy with elephantitis of the nuts?” How did Nelson even come up with that? He also came up with the iconic fist pump at the end!

2. A dream of Allison’s was cut from the film

When the filming was done, the first cut was 150 minutes long. 53 minutes of that ended up being deleted to make the film shorter as 2.5 hours seemed too long at the time. One of the scenes deleted was a dream that Allison (Ally Sheedy) while sleeping in the first part of the movie.

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She dreamed that she was a vampire and Andrew was a gluttonous Viking, Bender a prisoner, Claire a bride, Brian an astronaut. Now I really want to see this dream!

3. The janitor was Man of the Year as a student

In the opening scenes of the movies, our favorite janitor is actually pictured on the wall! When the camera pans over the “Man of the Year” plaque, Carl Reed’s photo is on it! He may not have been able to be John Lennon but, at least, he had some accomplishment!

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Know what else you can see in the beginning? Brain’s flare gun damaged locker!

4. Rick Moranis was supposed to be the janitor

Rick Moranis was originally the chosen actor to play Carl Reed, the janitor but John Hughes ended up having to fire him. The actor had a different view of how the character should be and wasn’t following the script. John Kapelos was then hired to play the role and did a fabulous job!

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When observing how Moranis played the janitor, he noted, “They did shoot for a week or so, maybe less. But Rick insisted on playing the part with a big set of gold teeth, a chain with a wad of keys hanging between his legs which he would play with provocatively and a thick Russian accent.” Guess that wasn’t the look Hughes wanted!

5. It was filmed like a stage play

Movies are not usually filmed in order because it is easier to film all the scenes that take place in a certain location than having to go back and forth. John Hughes, however, didn’t want to do this and The Breakfast Club was all shot in sequence, from beginning to end.

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The actors and actresses practiced their scenes for a 3 weeks before the filming began! It was basically a stage play!

6. Emilio Estevez was going to be Bender

When casting first began, Emilio Estevez auditioned to play Bender and got the role. This didn’t last long, though, because Hughes couldn’t find someone perfect to play Andrew Clark. Estevez agreed to switch parts to play the athlete and the Bender, as we know, went to Judd Nelson.

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I don’t think the movie would have been the same if Estevez was the criminal! Do you agree?

7. Molly Ringwald was supposed to be Allison

Since both Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall were in Hughes’ previous film, 16 Candles, he asked them to be in his new film, The Breakfast Club. Both took the job, Hall becoming Bryan and Allison was given to Ringwald. The actress, however, had other ideas and wanted to play Claire.

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She eventually convinced the director to let her be the princess, probably because she was acting like one!

8. Jodie Foster auditioned to be Claire

Since Hughes originally wanted Ringwald to be Allison, he was looking for someone to play Claire. Of the actresses that auditioned were Jodie Foster, Robin Wright, and Laura Dern. They, of course, all lost the part to Ringwald after she switched roles.

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Can you just imagine how different Claire would have been if Jodie Foster won the role!

9. Anthony Michael Hall’s mom and sister were in the movie

In the beginning scene when Brian is being dropped off by his mom and sister, Hall’s actual mom and sister are the ones in the car! Also, did you notice that his mom’s license plate was EMC 2, Einstein’s theory of relativity because what better license plate for “the brain?”

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Another parent that should be a bit recognizable is Brian’s dad who was actually John Hughes!

10. “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” was written for the film

Any Breakfast Club fan knows the title song, Don’t You (Forget About Me) by heart but did you know that the band, Simple Minds was not the first choice to sing it? Billy Idol and Bryan Ferry were asked to record the theme song but they declined. Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders also said no but gave them the advice to ask Jim Kerr of Simple Minds, her then husband.

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The song ended up being released as a single and reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100! It was ended up being Simple Minds‘ only number one hit.

11. Sheedy, Estevez, and Nelson starred in another movie that same year

Boy, these actors just want from one film to another! After The Breakfast Club got wrapped up, John Hughes recommended Sheedy, Estevez, and Nelson to the director, Joel Schumacher for her movie, St. Elmo’s Fire. She ended up casting them and the movie was released 4 months after Hughes!

Columbia Pictures

These actors, along with Hall and Ringwald, became part of a group in the 80’s called the “Brat Pack” because they starred in many movies together!

12. Allison’s dandruff was parmesan cheese

Remember that kind of disgusting scene when Allison uses her dandruff to make it snow on her picture? Well, I hope it eases your mind to know that it wasn’t actually dandruff since Sheedy didn’t have any. They used parmesan cheese to create the effect!

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I wonder if Sheedy liked her hair smelling like cheese all day!

13. Nicholas Cage was a choice for Bender

After it was decided that Estevez would be playing the athlete rather than the criminal, Hughes had to find someone to play Bender. Because of this, Bender was actually the last of the characters to be cast. Nicholas Cage auditioned to play the role, along with John Cusack.

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It ended up being left to Cusack and Nelson but Hughes chose the latter because Cusack didn’t look tough enough .

14. The movie was set in a fictional suburb of Illinois

John Hughes really likes Illinois. Like many of his films, The Breakfast Club was set in a fictional Chicago suburb of Shermer, Illinois. The external shots of the school were of Glenbrook North High School, Hughes’ old high school!

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The high school they used in The Breakfast Club was also the same high school we see in Ferris Buller’s Day Off! Bet you need to go rewatch these movies now that you know that!

15. Judd Nelson was the oldest

While they were all supposed to be high school students, only two of the characters were actually the correct age. Emilio Estevez and Ally Sheedy were 23-years-old while Nelson was 3 years older. I guess this makes sense considering he was “held back!”

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Hall and Ringwald were only 17-years-old and due to child labor laws, they were only allowed to work 4 hours a day. Because of this, there had to be stand-ins so the other actors could rehearse.

16. Sheedy doesn’t have lines until 33 minutes in

Sheedy definitely had fewer lines to memorize than her other castmates! For the first part of the movie, her character Allison is either sleeping or keeping to herself and Bender even tells Principal Vernon that she doesn’t speak. Her eccentric character doesn’t interact with anyone unless it is to spit a nail at Bender or give an occasional squeal or smile.

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Her first words finally come 33 minutes into the movie but they are very brief. Allison yells “Ha!” after Claire complains about her parents always using her.

17. The cast got a piece of the library’s banister

John Hughes is just so thoughtful! After the film was finished in May 1984, the director sent his cast home with a special gift from the set so they can remember their wonderful time together. Everyone got a piece of the library banister!

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Ringwald was more interested in Claire’s boots, which she later stated she regretted not keeping!

18. Brian was born in Connecticut according to his SSN

Remember when Allison impressed Brian and Andrew by stating, “Your middle name is Ralph, as in puke, your birth date’s March 12th, you’re 5’9 and a half, you weigh 130 pounds and your social security number is 049380913?” While we know that she wasn’t actually psychic and that she just stole Brian’s wallet, this actually revealed something!

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According to his social security number, Brian was born in Connecticut! Wonder what brought him to Illinois!

19. They smoked oregano in those pot scenes

Obviously, Hughes wouldn’t let his cast actually smoke marijuana in those scenes, especially since two of the actors weren’t even the legal age to smoke cigarettes! To make it look realistic, he used oregano blunts! That totally explains their gross faces!

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Brian’s line, “Chicks cannot hold their smoke,” wasn’t actually scripted and is actually from a Richard Pryor routine, which Hall was a fan of.

20. The quote, in the beginning, is from David Bowie

There wasn’t a better way to open this coming-of-age film than with David Bowie’s quote, “…and these children that you spit on, as they try to change their worlds are immune to your consultations. They’re quite aware of what they’re going through…” Did you know, though, that it wasn’t John Hughes idea?

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Ally Sheedy was actually the one who told the director this quote and didn’t even know that he choose it as opening lines until she saw the final cut!

21. Brian’s nickname was Milk and Cookies

The quote wasn’t the only thing Sheedy came up with! She found Michael Hall to be very sweet and kind to the point that she came up with a cute nickname for him! She kept calling him Milk and Cookies throughout their time together!

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Hall, however, was not very fond of this nickname!

22. Allison’s personality was much like Sheedy’s

There is a reason why Ally Sheedy was able to play the basket case so well and the reason makes you want to hug her. She said that she was inspired by who she was in high school. Hughes really did pick the perfect actress to play Allison!

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In the newly released DVD that includes interviews from the cast, Sheedy stated, “Allison is a part of me. She didn’t have to come from anywhere, I didn’t have to find her.”

23. Nelson and Ringwald didn’t get along off screen

It can be good to stay in character when the cameras are done rolling because it helps you stay in touch with who you are playing, but sometimes it gets to be too much. Judd Nelson kept being Bender off screen, which included harassing Molly Ringwald. It got so bad to the point that Hughes was on the verge of firing him!

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Luckily for Nelson, the other actors (probably not Ringwald, though) stuck up for him and convinced Hughes to keep him!

24. Michael Hall had a growth spurt

Who knew you would keep growing at age 17! Judd Nelson has mentioned that Anthony Michael High had a growth spurt while filming. The two actors are 9 years apart and originally, Nelson was taller than Hall. However, by the end of the production, the younger actor was 2 inches taller than Nelson!

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I wonder if we can see this growth spurt in the movie! See if Brian appears to be taller by the end!

25. It took Hughes 2 days to write the script

It all started one Fourth of July weekend, back in 1982 and two days later, he had the first draft of The Breakfast Club screenplay. The movie was originally going to be his directorial debut but then he decided to go with Sixteen Candles first. The Breakfast Club, however, was his first film where he was both the director and producer, along with being the writer!

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I don’t know what inspired Hughs to write this beloved movie that weekend, but 31 years later and we are still glad he did!

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